A Flybe pilot who developed a fear of flying was sacked unfairly, an employment tribunal has concluded.
Matthew Guest, a first officer with the regional airline, became anxious and had panic attacks after being promoted in 2014.
He had flown for the carrier for seven years but was sacked three years later. He now wants to return to his job.
The tribunal ruled that Guest, who worked in Birmingham, should have been offered more alternative roles or an opportunity to discuss his case with senior staff, although had Flybe followed the rules, it was likely that he would have been sacked anyway, The Times reported.
Guest was initially pleased at being moved to longer flights on Embraer jets but started to develop spells of nausea and dizziness.
After a month of this he had a feeling of impending doom as he drove to the airport and called in sick. On another flight, he told the captain that he did not feel well enough to fly before take off.
Guest’s GP wrote to Flybe saying her patient had “developed an increasing phobia and anxiety about long-distance flights and being trapped on the aeroplane”. His medical certificate which is required to fly a commercial aircraft, was temporarily suspended.
After two months of counselling it was reinstated by the Civil Aviation Authority but he felt increasingly sick and anxious on flights. Eventually, he was signed off with anxiety.
He returned seven months later but became sick again and was sacked in an email that said: “The company remains concerned regarding your fitness to safely fly. Due to the uncertainty of your condition we cannot as an organisation accept the risk to safety.
“The medical advice containing the suggestion that your condition could return causes the company serious concerns and Flybe are not prepared to take risks in the flight deck with people’s lives.”
Guest was offered a ground-based role as a flight safety support officer in Exeter, with hotel accommodation provided, but was told that there would be no possibility of returning to flying if he accepted the job.
Luke Farajallah, the group chief operating officer, had not met Guest to discuss his concerns.
Birmingham employment tribunal judge Tom Coghlin said: “It is a basic principle of natural justice and of fairness that an employee should have the chance to address the relevant decision-maker.
“Here, the claimant had no such opportunity.”
The judge added that Guest could have returned to flying Q400 turboprops, which he had flown safely and without difficulty for years, or been allowed to fly for a time with an extra pilot.
Upholding the claim, he said that had Flybe followed the correct procedure there was a two thirds chance the airline would have sacked him fairly.
Unless Guest and Flybe come to an agreement about his reinstatement, the matter will be decided by a hearing later this month.
A spokesperson for the British Airline Pilots Association said: “The reason for Matthew Guest’s dismissal has been misrepresented in the press.
“Contrary to the press reports, Matthew did not experience ‘fear of flying’. The up-to-date medical evidence, as reported in the judgment, cites a temporary social anxiety.
“At the time Flybe decided to dismiss Matthew, all of the relevant medical experts confirmed that he was fit to return to work. The Civil Aviation Authority’s consultant had concluded that Matthew was fit to fly subject to a satisfactory medical flight test.
“Nevertheless, Flybe decided to dismiss Matthew without considering the up-to-date medical evidence and without giving Matthew an opportunity to make his case to the ultimate decision maker; Luke Farajallah, the company’s then chief operating officer. The tribunal concluded that no reasonable employer would have decided to dismiss Matthew in these circumstances.
“Matthew took the sensible decision to request time off to deal with his condition and was unfairly dismissed as a result. We’re disappointed this has been so widely and inaccurately reported and it shows there is a long way to go in recognising and supporting workers affected by mental health issues.
“This could be hugely damaging to Matthew in gaining future employment and also to the likelihood of other pilots reporting similar mental health conditions to their employers in the future.”
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